New ‘Bond’ movie worth the price of admission
Quantum of Solace
Daniel Craig (James Bond) called shooting the films a pain. Lensing may be painful to the cast, but viewers rejoice at hand-to-hand stunt fighting and the intimacy of running, jumping, crawling and punching.
Quantum of Solace achieves the extraordinary by relying on ordinary f/x with high tech mark of the beast surveillance sets. That means that 007 hits the screen racing, running, jumping and tumbling. He bleeds and gets scratches.
Looks like James has abandoned the dashing debonair man of martinis, fast cars and fast women in favor of a more physically and emotionally vulnerable spy.
The franchise originally thrived on Cold War issues, but the producers and screenwriters have with both “Casino Royale” and “Quantum” placed a world energy crisis in the forefront. They’ve softened Bond’s playboy woman seducing persona; he’s still hurting from losing the love of his life in the prior film, “Casino Royale.” That does not prevent flippant utterances like handing an unconscious woman to a stranger with the brisk, “Excuse me, she’s seasick,” or a macho “she wasn’t important” statement to his boss.
Nevertheless, from the opening scene Craig thrills viewers as he battles a band of democracy destabilizers, opting for one-on-one fisticuffs amidst the exotic locales framed by his hasty air, land and sea journeys into intrigue.